Who's Into Leather?
Posted by Pete Robbins on Jul 25th 2021
To quote ESPN’s Chris Berman, “You’re with me, leather.”
That seems to be a common refrain among high-end, bait-dropping swimbaiters these days. They’re apparently no longer satisfied with balsa wood, jelutong, resin or other more traditional baitmaking materials. Now they want old Bessie the cow to have some skin in the game.
First, it was the Manifold Deniro Yugo Frame 550 Glide Bait, a bargain at $1147.99 through Tackle Warehouse. Per the product description, the “bait is covered in 100% horsehide leather that goes through a vegetable tanning process by Shinki Hikaku co. then is hand-stitched around the entire exterior of the bait. The leather exterior also does not get colder in the water like traditional ABS plastic, which ensures the bait has a warmer body temperature and a similar texture to a living baitfish for a more natural presentation. As the leather progresses, the surface foil becomes weathered and becomes more like a wounded or weak baitfish as well.” I thought that was a one-off, but at ICAST Roman Made introduced a new version of the Negotiator Swimbait, one of the most coveted glidahs on the planet. For about a quarter of what the Manifold costs (and at a much more manageable size of 7-inches and 3 ounces), you get a single-jointed lure that’s created through “a unique process that presses abalone leather directly onto the surface of the lure.”
Apparently, this is a thing. One manufacturer could be an outlier, but once we get a second into the mix it’s worth investigating. I’ll have to learn more.
Neither the Fonz nor Leather Tuscadero could be reached for comment.
